It was not the finish Jose Aldo
envisioned, but he accepted it nonetheless.

A gruesome shoulder injury brought a premature end to Chan Sung
Jung’s title bid at 145 pounds, as Aldo buried the stricken
challenger with punches, secured the stoppage and retained his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight crown in the UFC
163 headliner on Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Referee Herb Dean
called a halt to the bout 2:00 into round four, with Jung (13-4,
3-1 UFC) clearly in distress and unable to continue.

Aldo (23-1, 5-0 UFC) was effective in spurts, but he was not the
dominant force to which the MMA world has grown accustomed. He kept
what is arguably his most effective weapon -- the leg kick -- in
its holster, throwing only one of them in the match. Instead, Aldo
turned to his wrestling chops, delivering takedowns in each of the
first three rounds. The 26-year-old Brazilian did his best work in
round two, where he scored with an exquisite multi-punch
combination to the body and head and mixed in a devastating jab to
go along with the aforementioned takedown.

During an exchange early in round four, Jung appeared to separate
his right shoulder while throwing a punch. The South Korean
retreated in visible pain, with Aldo in hot pursuit. The champion
drove him to the ground with punches and kicks, polishing off
another victory at the base of the fence.

“Yes I did see [his shoulder separate],” Aldo said, “so I kicked
him and tried to put him down to give him some
ground-and-pound.”

The Nova Uniao ace has now won 16 consecutive bouts.

“I really don’t know [who is the new No. 1 contender],” Aldo said.
“I just work for UFC, and [I will fight] whoever comes.”

Davis Takes Controversial Decision

G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Was Machida robbed? Tell us below.

In the co-main event, Alliance MMA’s Phil Davis
leaned on aggression, kicks, volume punches and takedowns late in
each round to procure a controversial unanimous decision over
former light heavyweight champion Lyoto
Machida. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Davis (12-1, 8-1
UFC).

“I’ve been a fan of [Machida’s] since I started fighting,” Davis
said. “Please don’t boo. This man is a champion. The late takedowns
definitely helped. It’s always my strategy to get takedowns and
work all the time.”

Machida (19-4, 11-4 UFC) countered beautifully throughout the
15-minute clash and, outside of single takedowns in rounds one and
two, shut down the wrestling attack of the four-time NCAA
All-American and 2008 national champion. “The Dragon” appeared to
land most of the significant strikes in the bout, including a
crackling counter left hand in the second round that got Davis’
attention. Machida turned away all of “Mr. Wonderful’s” takedown
attempts in round three.

“I really don’t know what they are judging,” Machida said. “Just
listen to the crowd. They will tell you what happened. [My corner]
told me to go in hard. That’s what I tried to do. I don’t know what
happened.”

Ferreira (6-2, 2-0 UFC) wasted no time getting down to business. He
staggered Santos with a clubbing left hook during their opening
exchange and pursued the finish. Santos dove for a desperate
takedown, only to find himself trapped in an arm-in guillotine
choke. Soon after, he asked out of the match.

“I saw he had his guard down,” Ferreira said, “and I decided to use
that opportunity and then finish him with a guillotine.”

Leites Dominant in Return

G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Leites vs. Watson was a bloody 15 minutes.

Takedowns, ground-and-pound and a grueling clinch game carried Nova
Uniao’s Thales
Leites to a one-sided unanimous decision over former British
Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Tom Watson in
a featured middleweight scrap. All three cageside judges scored it
30-27 for Leites (21-4, 6-3 UFC), who had not competed inside the
Octagon since August 2009.

“I want to say to all the world that I’m back in the UFC where I
belong,” he said. “I spent four years away from this cage. I had
some problems; I had surgery in both knees. Now, I couldn’t be
better.”

Watson (16-6, 1-2 UFC) would probably agree. Leites backed up the
Brit with straight punches and struck for takedowns in all three
rounds, bloodying him with ground-and-pound during a relentless
pursuit of submissions. The 32-year-old Brazilian put the finishing
touches on the victory in the third round, where he opened a nasty
gash near Watson’s right eye with a left hook.

Overweight Lineker Stops Tome

G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Lineker blasted Tome for the finish.

Former Jungle Fight champion John
Lineker took out Renovacao Fight Team’s Jose Maria
Tome with second-round ground-and-pound in a flyweight
showcase. Lineker (22-6, 3-2 UFC), who failed to make weight for
the match, sealed the deal 63 seconds into round two.

Tome (33-4, 0-1 UFC) had his chance. He staggered Lineker with a
perfectly timed and placed spinning back fist roughly two minutes
into the bout. Tome, who served as a replacement for the injured
Phil
Harris, swarmed for the finish but failed to secure it, and
Lineker slowly reestablished his foothold.

In the second round, Lineker closed the distance and let his
powerful hands do the rest. Tome appeared to suffer a leg injury
after throwing a kick and collapsed to the mat. Lineker pounced and
put away his countryman with a series of unanswered punches. The
defeat halted Tome’s 12-fight winning streak.

“I got a little lost when he [hit me], but I was obviously able to
recover,” Lineker said. “Then I went into my game, which is
striking.”